Shadows Reduced Impact (Shadows Cascade Reduced)

[LucShep]

 ** UPDATED TO WORK WITH NEWEST DCS OPEN BETA (WITH MULTI-THREADING) **

 -  Better performance with hardly any shadow quality loss
 -  Works perfect with both screens/monitors and VR
 -  No slower loading of missions of any kind
 -  Made for DCS 2.8 but also works with DCS 2.9 (both MT an ST, Open Beta or Stable)
 -  Not IC compliant for Multiplayer (only with servers which allow mods!)

Shadows Reduced Impact (v2.11) download: 
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3329503/

______  NOTES AND DESCRIPTION  __________________________________ 
This is a modification that alters values of shadow cascade(s) for better performance.
In practice, what happens when using this mod is the terrain shadows (outside-cockpit) being drawn as far as before, but with overall performance improved with quite small visual difference trade-off. The other benefit is that, at the same time, the inside-cockpit shadows maintain high quality in all settings (4096x4096 pixel shadows, though even that can be changed if really desired).

______  INSTALLATION  ______________________________________________
This mod replaces one file found in the game installation folder (same paths and structure as you see in the mod).
A mod manager (such as OvGME) is recommended, because it's the quickest way to install and uninstall mods in the game.

If instead you prefer to install this mod manually, there are some very simple instructions in the "READ_ME" provided with the downloaded file.

After installing this mod, and for the game system options/settings to use for shadows, I suggest to put them just like in the image I attach with this mod. It's merely a suggestion, feel free to use those shadow settings as you see fit.

Please remember that if updating or repairing DCS, then the SHADOWS.LUA file will be reset, and you'll need to reinstall this mod again to use it.

______  EDITING THE MOD  __________________________________________
If you need to further improve performance (but at cost of shadowmap quality), you can edit the SHADOWS.LUA file with any text editor and change the size value of shadowmap. I left some notes about this subject in the "READ_ME" file.
Feel free to experiment - remember to always backup your files!

______  CREDITS AND THANKS  _____________________________________ 
- To KEGETYS for the original mod this was based on.
- To the people at E.D., as there are original files modified for the purpose of this mod.

______  CHANGELOG ________________________________________________ 
v2.11 -- minor corrections in cascade(s)
v2.0 -- changes for compatibility with DCS 2.8 OB featuring MultiThreading
v1.0 -- initial release based on older Kegetys mod

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by LucShep
format

[RedeyeStorm]

Sounds interesting. I'll give it a try.

[SPAS79]

Will try. 

[RedeyeStorm]

Does give me about 3fps extra with shadows high.

[SPAS79]

the only difference I have seen is that my shadows appear only when really close to the ground (we're talking 10 ft) and trees/obj shadows appear too long and "move back" to their normal size when getting close to the 3dobject (when my POV is, say, 100-75ft away) making for a bad effect. Deal breaker as I do 95% helicopters, close to the ground. I will give it another shot with shadows on high. 

[LucShep]

1 hour ago, SPAS79 said:

the only difference I have seen is that my shadows appear only when really close to the ground (we're talking 10 ft) and trees/obj shadows appear too long and "move back" to their normal size when getting close to the 3dobject (when my POV is, say, 100-75ft away) making for a bad effect. Deal breaker as I do 95% helicopters, close to the ground. I will give it another shot with shadows on high. 

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.

I'm a bit puzzled as I tested this, also with a fellow DCS user, with a plethora of modules, terrains, different day times and scenarios for quite a while before releasing this, and haven't seen any bugs. Granted, I don't have all modules and no longer fly helicopters, there could be something happening that I just haven't noticed.

In anycase, I made some very minor changes and have updated the mod (to v2.1).
Perhaps redownload latest version of the mod and retest?

Edited March 13, 2023 by LucShep

[RedeyeStorm]

I believe what @SPAS79describes is a known issue with MT. It is at the bottom of the patch list.

[SPAS79]

20 hours ago, LucShep said:

Perhaps redownload latest version of the mod and retest?

 

Yeah, I'll give it a shot!

[Harlikwin]

Does this break IC?

[SPAS79]

59 minutes ago, Harlikwin said:

Does this break IC?

yes.

[jnr4817]

What is the approximated performance difference for each setting within the shadows?

[LucShep]

It really depends on the DCS mission and, of course, the PC hardware in use.

May be a really small difference with quick missions, but should definitely see noticeable gains (smoother action) in busy missions and/or with lots of shadowcasting objects around you.

Edited March 17, 2023 by LucShep

[Valium]

What if I use Flat terrain shadows? Will it work?

[LucShep]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:36 AM, Valium said:

What if I use Flat terrain shadows? Will it work?

Sure, no problem.
Though the benefits of this mod are with terrain object shadows set at "Default".

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by LucShep

[Ready]

I used to have this running, but in MP it did not work anymore. Will give it another go. Thanks

[Quekel]

Would be nice if you could make a version that would only show cockpit and cloud shadows :).
Thats all I would need in VR for now.

[LucShep]

4 hours ago, Quekel said:

Would be nice if you could make a version that would only show cockpit and cloud shadows :).
Thats all I would need in VR for now.

We all know DCS is a monster devouring hardware resources but, that is beyond my scope and intention.
It would make DCS a late 1990s flight sim, graphics wise. 

Terrain Object Shadows OFF option is already provided, and should provide relief for better performance, I think? 

[Quekel]

Still the shadows of other opjects, esspecially flying lower over airfields are causing frame drops in VR.
So thats why I have them off at the moment.

For VR with minimum performance impact this would be the best solution.

[NatoAviator]

This one breaks MP sessions, when switching bet MP servers (NON-IC servers to be clear).

I tried to update with the 2.9 file, DCS freezes.

It looks like it's an issue with the new shaders, disabling the Mod via a MOD manager also causes MP sessions to crash, until the FXO & Metashader folders in Saved Games are cleared and rebuilt.

[Dunska]

Working fine for me in 2.9 in MP.